Most disagree with Trump plans to use military for deportations, issue Jan. 6 pardons: Survey

A majority of Americans disagree with President-elect Trump’s plans to use the military for mass deportations and his efforts to issue pardons to Jan. 6 rioters, a new survey found.

According to the survey, conducted by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, more than half of Americans oppose several of Trump’s recent statements.

The survey found that 54 percent of respondents are opposed to Trump using the U.S. military to carry out his plan of deporting undocumented immigrants. After the election, the president-elect appeared to confirm a report that said he is prepared to declare a national emergency and use military assets to carry out his plans.

Sixty percent are opposed to Trump having the Department of Justice investigate the president-elect’s political rivals. The threat of prosecution is looming over Trump’s rivals, particularly those who sat on the Jan. 6 House committee. A GOP-led report released earlier this week called for charges against former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who sat on the committee.

Two-thirds of respondents, 66 percent, are opposed to Trump issuing pardons for people convicted of crimes following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The president-elect said he intends to pardon “most” rioters within hours of re-entering the White House.

The survey also found the threat of Trump jailing reporters who write stories he dislikes is widely unpopular. Eighty-eight percent of respondents oppose the idea, as Trump’s relationship with the media becomes even more strained before he takes office.

The president-elect settled a $15 million defamation lawsuit with ABC News and filed another against The Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer over a poll that showed him losing the race in Iowa.

Nearly all of Trump’s ideas in the survey received little support from Democrats. Independents were more likely to support the ideas, but support remained below 50 percent support. Republicans were most likely to back Trump’s plans, but support among the GOP remained low for jailing reporters.

The survey was conducted Dec. 5-9 among 1,251 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

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